turning average joes into local spokesmodels

Last Wednesday’s post emphasized the importance of direct relationships between consumers and businesses. Forget Mars and Venus, we want both parties within the Spokeable Solar System where we fight to forge true win-wins.

The prevalence of social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest demonstrate how willing and enthusiastically consumers present themselves online. People eagerly tag photos of their lifestyles along with their desired goods and experiences. In the existing platforms individuals are uploading their most valuable assets (consumer data) for free. Because of the barriers which exist between consumers and businesses, the result is a zero sum game. Local businesses can’t access or analyze the plethora of data on the one hand. Consumers don’t receive anything in exchange for their valuable information, on the other.

Spokeable serves to break down the barriers, insuring that businesses and consumers can interact in real time as business partners. Through our platform, consumers become spokesmodels and evangelist for specific businesses. In exchange, they recieve exclusive and coveted rewards for that action. Simultaneously, the business can grow and expand their addressable market and customer base by leveraging their social capital. They create interactive relationships with their loyal customer base and target marketing for that group and their likeminded followers. The interaction proves engaging for both parties. It offers consumers the opportunity to show exactly what they want. It allows the business to tailor individual rewards based on these displayed wants of their customer base. Spokeable proves itself an excellent platform through which we transform traditional concepts of advertising into tailored services and demand fulfillment.

We create partnerships of equals between consumers and businesses. You want in?

Let’s look at typical software solutions for businesses and consumers. Most businesses, regardless of size, use packaged business software to support their operations. These softwares run the gamut from Finance and Purchasing all the way to Sales and Payroll. They range from Oracle and SAP, to cloud-based solutions like Workday and Salesforce.com. They even include open source alternatives like Open ERP. Each of of these solutions have one thing in common: they treat customers as “master data.” In essence, they assign attributes like name, address and credit history in order to make a “customer model” based on these points and assumptions. They integrate this model into process chains like “order to cash.” In essence, these softwares convert the customer into an object, managed and exploited for monetary gain. They don’t facilitate real-time interaction and they do not foster a win/win relationship.

If we examine models built for for consumers, such as Groupon and Amazon, the landscape is both different and similar. These companies afford the customer bargaining power by bundling demand. They offer access to a competitive market place and the best deals. The businesses are positioned in a favorable light, giving opportunities to their customers. A platform which guarantees the lowest price for customers seems reasonable. Everyone wants the lowest price, right? If we think more critically, though, we understand that is not always the case. Yes, it takes time and effort to find well-priced offerings. But these offerings are often not tailored to individual needs of the consumer or the business. Indeed there have been a number of studies posted which explain how these models are not helpful for local businesses. What these platforms do is fulfill the needs of Groupon or Amazon’s business model. That’s the goal.

In each of these scenarios we witness a third party standing in between the customer and the business. Win-win relationships aren’t easy to forge without an actual relationship between the business and the customer. I say, get out of the way. Breaking down the barriers between local businesses and their local customers is how we make win-wins. And that is Spokeable’s foundation.

John Gray has made a fortune helping millions of people better understand and participate in their relationships with loved ones. The world is grateful. But romantic relationships aren’t the only ones requiring reconciliation.

What about the relationship between consumers and businesses?

At Spokeable, we strive to overcome the barriers that exist between consumers and businesses. We focus on creating more value for both parties. And making it simple, engaging and fun.

Sounds straightforward, right? Yes. But it still deserves some inquiry. Why is there a barrier in the first place? Where did it come from? Shouldn’t it be natural that a business transaction creates value for all involved parties?

Many agree it should. But many still see business transactions as a zero sum game. One side wins and the other side loses. This notion is also present in many software solutions that businesses use and many apps used by consumers.

We think it’s time to change that “win/lose” paradigm and introduce a “win/win” philosophy not only in our attitude towards consumers and businesses, but also in our software solutions.

There must be winners and losers?? Really?? We don’t think so, but we’d love to hear your thoughts!